Armada Music launches $100M investment fund for acquiring electronic music
BEAT's first acquisition includes Kevin Saudnerson's KMS catalogue
Armin van Buuren’s Armada Music, the global dance label behind legendary dance acts including Paul Oakenfold, Paul van Dyk and Chicane, has announced a new music investment firm called BEATS (Best Ever Acquired Tracks).
BEATS intends to spend $100 million by the end of 2024 on mergers and acquisitions in the dance music field; one of the first acquisitions is the entire back catalogue of Kevin Saunderson’s KMS label.
Armada Music said in a press statement that BEAT is an "artist-friendly vehicle to unlock value from recordings and copyrights within the dance arena."
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BEAT is backed by Pinnacle Financial Partners, with plans to grow the fund to $500 million over the next few years. The investment fund bills BEAT as the first-ever dance music investment company.
Armada’s CEO Maykel Piron says, “It's a privilege to be working with the tracks that sparked my passion for dance music at an early age.”
“That passion is still there, and it’s incredibly rewarding to bolster the legacy of major dance hits such as Joe Smooth’s ‘Promised Land’, of which we already acquired the exploitation rights years ago. It adds a new dimension to the work we’re doing with Armada Music, and we’re super excited to bring in more incredible labels, artists and songs to boost and complement our current catalogue of 40.000 tracks.”
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Russian producer ARTY aka Aplha 9’s master and publishing catalogues joins Saunderson’s KMS back catalogue as the first string of BEAT’s acquisitions.
